Power outage causes flight delays, cancellations at KCI

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - All of Southwest Airlines’ morning flights in and out of Kansas City International Airport were canceled after a power outage Tuesday morning in Terminal B.

Power was initially lost at about 7 a.m., KCI spokesman Joe McBride said, and was flickering on and off throughout the morning. At 11:20 a.m., power was off and fliers could not be checked in for upcoming flights.

Power resumed again around 12:45.

Not only were computers at the checkpoints and counters affected by the outage, but all restaurants and shops inside the terminal had no power and were closed.

A lot of passengers questioned the airport’s backup plan concerning generators.

McBride said, “It’s uncertain why we don’t, probably an expense issue. The amount of generators it would take to power three terminals is likely beyond the capability of a lot of generators.”

KCI's website, www.flykci.com , showed scheduled outbound morning flights headed to Chicago, Tampa, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Nashville, Denver, Milwaukee and Indianapolis.

Eight flights were canceled, McBride said.  All flights scheduled through at least 1:45 p.m. were delayed, but most evening flights were running on time, according to the airport's website.

McBride said the delays and cancellations are causing a ripple effect not only in Kansas City, but throughout the country, as planes and passengers are not making it to their destinations because of the outage.

“You’ve got a lot of people not only in Kansas City but in other cities, so flights couldn’t come here. It’s a pretty major effect throughout the country,” said McBride.

Southwest customers can call the airline at 800-435-9792 to rebook.

The outage also affected all of Delta Airlines’ flights, but McBride said while there were delays for Delta, there were no cancellations. Delta customers can call 800-221-1212 or tweet @DeltaAssist.

McBride said passenger safety was never at risk because of the outage. He said KCP&L crews were working in the area Monday night and may have caused the outage, but the exact cause was not clear.